Air conditioning dehumidifier



Aug 4 J. C. WICHMANN 2,251,649

Patent e l Au 5, 1941* UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE AIR. CONDITIONIN G DEHUMlDIFlER John C. Wichmann, New York, N. Y. Application January 24, 1939, Serial No. 252,628

f (ol. (az-140) 4 Claims.

The purpose of this invention is to improve the efliciency of air Conditioning devices Which normally-take air from a room or enclosure, pass the air Over Cooling means, and then eject the cooled air; and, as the cooled air passes over pipes and smooth plates, it has relatively high humidity, whereas with this apparatus the air passes Over corrugated plates so that the grooves or valleys arrest or collect the moisture, making it possible to eject or provide a dry, cooled air.

The invention is an attachment, adapted to be used in combination'with air Conditioning apparatus, comprising a plurality of bafiies, preferabiy rough or corrugated, surrounding the Cooling agent or coil, and the ends of the bafiles are provided with cup-shaped moisture arresting strips forming catch basins, the combination of baffles and cup-shaped strips forming eflicient dehumidifying means.

Air Conditioning units generally used for rooms, buildings, or any enclosure, normally comprise a blower for circulating the air, and a refrigerant in a coil or other device positioned to be subjected to the air for removing heat therefrom as it passes th'ereover, and from' this Cooling means the air is driven back out into the room, enclosure, or building. The entire apparatus, being relatively cool, therefore Causes condensation of air in a room in which it may be used, and this creates a dampcondition which, with air pasing therethrough, obviously raises the humidity thereof, and this normally imparts a damp condition to air conditioned rooms, enclosures, and the like. It is, therefore, desirable to provide means for removing this dampness Or .moisture content from the air as the air is circulated through' the device; and, although flat plates have been used, these permit the air to pass over freely, where as by corrugating the plates the moisture is arrested and held in pockets therein, and also in catch basins at the extreme point from which the air is forced from the device, so that the efliciency of air Conditioning apparatus is materially increased.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to

improve air Conditioning units by providing more eflicient dehumidifying means therein, or in combination therewith.

Another object is to provide dehumidifying means for air Conditioning units which dehumidifies the air as it leaves the unit and the con.. densation collected and removed.

Another Object is to .provide dehumidifying means in an air Conditioning unit which may be installed in th unit without increasing the size thereof.

Another object is to provide dehumidifying means for air Conditioning units which may be' used in combination with filters, and also in units of different types, and in which the air is discharged directly outward or downward, or upward, as may be desired. y

A further object is to provide a Cooling coil for an air conditioning'unit with a plurality of fins having moisture arresting cup-shaped receptacles at the extreme ends of the fins.

And a still further object is to provide dehumidifying means in combination with an air Conditioning unit which is of a simple and economical construction.

With these ends in view the invention embodies an air Conditioning unit having a coil or other Cooling means in which a plurality of fins is provided through. which the air passes, and in which cup-shaped receptacles are provided at the ends of the fins for arresting the moisture content of the air. The device may also be pro- Vided with suitable draining means for removing the condensation or moisture collected therein.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a sectional plan showing a typical layout for one form of unit with part broken away showing the upper ends of the fins and cupshaped receptacles.

Figure 2 is a front elevatio'n of a unit having two fans.

Figure 3 is a similar view of a unit having one fan.

Figure 4 is a detail showing a sectional plan on an enlarged scale through one corner of the unit, showing the corrugated fins with the outwardly extending baflies on the edges of which the cupshaped receptacles are positioned.

Figure 5 is a rear view of the device shown in Figure 1, with the outer casing omitted, and showin g only the arrangement of the fans with the respective fan openings.

Figure 6 is a view showing a device of an alte'rnate design, in which the fins are used in combination with corrugated bafiles directing air ejected from the device downward.

In the drawingthe device is shown as it may be made, wherein numeral l indicates a Cooling coil, numeral 2, a discharging section in combination with a Cooling coil having inclined baflles therein, and numeral 3, fans positioned to blow air through the Cooling coil and bafllea It will be understood that the Cooling coil may be formed in any manner. with the coils horizontally positioned as 'shown in Figure 1 or ver.. tically positioned as shown in Figures 4 and 6, and this coil may be of a rectangular shape as shown in the drawing or of any shape or design.

In the design shown the Cooling coil is formed of pipes 4, as shown in Figure 1, 5 as shown in,

Figure 4, or 6 as shown in Figure 6, and these pipes pass through openings in vertically positioned fins indicated by the numeral 'I in Figure 1, 8 in Figure 4, and 9 in Figure 6.

The flns 'I are formed of relativeiy thin plate, and these are corrugated as illustrated, and extend from the back ID to the'front ll of .the Cooling coil, and, as air is blown over the coil by the fans 3, it is obviously forced through or between the fins 1; and, after passing through this section of the device, it engages sloping baifles |2 in the section 2 and passes over cup-shaped receptacies |3 on the ends of the bafiies. The baflies 12 are also'corrugated so that condensation will be collected thereon, and the ends are of a U-shape, as shown in detail in Figure 4, in which they are indicated by the numeral ll. In this figure, the baflies in the outer section of the casing are indicated by the numeral 15, and these are substantially the same as the baflies |2 shown in Figure 1.

These units may .be installed in an outer casing IG illustrated in Figure 1, and in this design the fans are directly mounted upon motors l'l mounted in a partition |8 having circular openings IS and 20 therein around the fans, and it will be noted that air will be drawn in through louvers 2i and 22 at the opposite ends of the casing, through filters 23 and 24, and will then follow the direction of the arrows passing inward through the openings IS and 20 and through the fins l1, baifles |2, and over the cup-shaped receptacles l3. The lower end of the casing IS is preferably provided with a drain connection 25, and the lower end -of the casing may be sloped on the inside thereof toward the drain 25, as indicated by the line 26 representing the bottom of the inner part thereof. The inner part of the casing in which the fins are positioned may also slope toward the drain, as illustrated in Figure and the bottom may, therefore, slope in both directions or toward any point or points.

The design shown in Figure 6 also illustrates an outer section 21 adapted to replace the section 2 where the cooling coil, as indicated by the numeral 28 which is similar to the coil l, is used in combination with other air Conditioning or refrigerating apparatus, and where it is desired to blow the air 'downward, and it will be noted that, in this design, the outer baflies 29 similar to the baflies l2 are curved downward, and the lower ends are provided with cup-shaped receptacies 30 corresponding to the cup-shaped receptacles l3. It will, therefore, be understood that. either the flns or outer baflies may be of any shape or design, and may be turned in any direction to turn the air currents to any points desired. r

It will be understood that other changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. One of which changes may be in the use of any number of fans or any other type of blower, or air motivating device, another may be in the use of flns of any other type or design, or of any number of fins, another may be in the use of any other means for providing Cooling means for the fins, and still'another may be i in the use of a dehumidifier of this type in combination with any other apparatus.

The construction will be readily understood from the foregoing description. In use the cooling coil with the flns incorporated therein may be incorporated in a suitable housing with the Outlet discharging into baiiies, with the U-shaped beads or cup-shaped strips at the outer ends so that all air from the Cooling coil or flns will pass directly over the baflies and cup-shaped strips, and, as the air is forced over these members, the moisture content thereof will be deposited upon the fins and bafiles, and this will run downward, passing out of the drain connection at the bottom. It will be understood that the shape and design of the parts are only typical and suggestive, as the casing, compartments or any of the parts may be of any shape or design, and may be used in combination with air conditioning or other apparatus of any type or design.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim-as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. In combination with an air Conditioning device having blowers, with an inner compartment in which the blowers and pipe coils are positioned, a plurality of corrugated vertically extending plates spaced relativeiy close together and in parallel relation and with the pipes running through the plates, an outer discharge compartment, and a plurality of outwardly diverging corrugated vertically extending plates therein forming baflies to spread air passing therethrough from said former plates, said corrugations in both sets of plates running vertically. and forming Vertical troughs for conveying moisv ture collecting on the plates downward.

2. A device as described in claim 1, characterized by cup shaped Vertical troughs at the outer edges of said outwardly diverging plates.

3. An air deflecting unit for air Conditioning devices and the like having heat exchanging elements therein, comprising a plurality of vertically extending and vertically corrugated plates spaced relativeiy close and parallel to the axis of flow of air currents passing therethrough, and an additional set of vertically extending and vertically corrugated plates in front of said former plates and outwardly diverging from the center, said corrugations. providing moisture arresting means for dehumidifying air passing over the plates. a

4. An air defiecting unit as described in claim 3, characterized by backwardly extending flanges at the sides and at the outer edges of the diverging plates providing additional moisture arresting means.

JOHN C. WICHMANN] 

